Down in DC

I had a great time catching some down time in DC since Thursday. I didn't want to come back. My brain and body are tired, but I have deadlines stacking up in September, so that vacation will have to wait for fall.

But the time I did have was a blast. I went to DC on strict orders of R&R. I visited with a lot of old friends -- some who I hadn't seen in three years -- and spent time with my brother and sister in law. On Friday, I just wandered. I brought my camera with me everywhere I went. I interned in DC in 2000, and I never took pictures of things that I thought were interesting, like the Metro and Union Station. They are marvels. So here's what I photographed:































This last picture has a funny story behind it. I went to DC on this particular weekend because my college roommate and sorority "big sister" was in town. So I hung out with her while she wasn't in conference sessions. On Saturday night, we had dinner at Bistro Bis (thank you, DC restaurant week!) We took a cab back to the hotel, but while stuck in traffic, an obnoxiously drunk woman decided she needed to get in the cab with us. Her rants were along the lines of Mel Gibson -- NO LIE. The cabbie didn't know what to do, but me and Crissy figured she wasn't a real threat aside from the cigarette she tried to light, and she was dead against getting out of the cab, so she rode with us to the hotel, then the poor cabbie had to drive her to Virginia. The bellmen at our hotel must have thought that WE were the obnoxious drunks because Crissy and I laughed so hard that we couldn't walk.

The wandering did me good. I had a chance to visit the renovated Nation Portrait Gallery, actually take a tour at the Folger Shakespeare Library rather than just wander around, and stuck my feet in the National Gallery of Art sculpture gallery fountain. I strolled down to Adam's Morgan, ran through Rock Creek Park and got caught in the rain on U Street. It was a random and completely relaxing trip.

It's a great city, and one I almost moved to before buying my Jersey house. It's great in the fall, too. With Much Ado About Nothing being put on by the Folger this fall? I think I'll be back soon.

Back to the grindstone -- I'll be in Cape May on Wednesday to work on a story. I'm curious what the crowds will be. Even though we haven't gotten to Labor Day yet, a lot of schools open on Wednesday. Plus, the weatherman says it's going to be a cooler week. Thank goodness. I might be the "shore" person, but I'm no fan of humidity. Welcome, fall. It's about time!

Out of Office

I'm off to DC for a few days. I tried to find some patriotic-themed picture in my files, but turned up zip. I have a dog and my hair is blonder from being out in the sun, so I'll go with Reese Witherspoon (and, yes, I'm being slightly sarcastic with the photo).

While I'm not going to DC to fight for animal rights in a watered down sequel, I am going to see some sights...if I feel like it. I have a few meetings, two meetings with Rock Creek Park and undetermined hours set aside for a roof top pool. Emily is holding down the fort as in being spoiled by my mom. It's a win win win.

News from Around the South Jersey Shore

Last week, we had a bunny. This week? A PONY!

Home prices in Cape May County are still down.

Congrats, Wildwood.

Fun story related to this. I went to college in Florida, and someone there asked me what my father did. I told him that he worked in construction. The guy, a big burly frat guy who we thought might or might not be on steroids, said, "You're from Jersey, right?" I nodded. "And your mother's Italian?" I nodded again, and his face went pale. "Remind me not to piss you off. " I called my dad to ask why, he said that construction companies in Atlantic City, especially those that built casinos, traditionally had close ties to the mob (his company is based in Pennsylvania). Then he told me to let the guy believe what he wanted to believe. This is also the dad who said he'd buy me five pairs of overalls for the summer I worked as a secretary in a jobsite trailer because he didn't want guys whistling at me. (Dad, I know you're reading -- it's still a good story).

Sad that a house like this is being torn down in Stone Harbor. I don't even want to think of what possibly gawdy "my second home is bigger than your first home will ever be" structure is going up in its place.

The Wildwood boardwalk wood controversy still isn't settled. I wrote about it for New Jersey Monthly this year...a lot of testy folks on both sides of the argument.

And finally this one's NSFW exactly, but funny.

Beach Day

Yesterday, I took the day off and spent all day with my butt in a beach chair in North Wildwood. It was glorious -- a perfect beach day. I swam, I tanned, I frolicked -- yes, FROLICKED in the waves. Then I lounged around a beach-front pool. It's the kind of days that I enjoyed while a kid down the shore. I didn't want to leave. I considered chucking today's work out the window and doing it again, but a gal's gotta work to keep that dog in fancy kibble.

After the beach day, I headed to Atlantic City to volunteer for the Tropicana's Taste of the Quarter, which benefits the United Way. And, yes, I wore a funny hat.



I didn't cook anything, just handed out samples of The Palm's Gigi salad: tomatoes, onions, green beans, bacon and shrimp.

Great day. Really great day. I'll be back down the shore next week for work. Maybe I'll take a few beach hours after work's done. Yesterday proved that salt water really is healing.

Tour de Shore

If you're in Avalon on Sunday, watch out for a bunch of drunk people in costume riding bikes. It's the annual Tour de Shore bar crawl. They're generally friendly folk, but expect swells of crowds at the bars along the crawl.

Check out this Flickr photo set for an idea of what you might find.

I'm off on Monday, hitting a beach in an undisclosed location. If you're in Atlantic City on Monday night, though, make sure to check out the Taste of the Tropicana, a foodie event that benefits the United Way. I'll be handing out samples from the Palm from 7 to 7:30pm.

News from Around the South Jersey Shore

Surprised? Casino revenues down again.

Here's a cool Atlantic City night photo.

And here's some cute Cape May pictures.

Like books? Like Cape May? You might like this author's novels.

BUNNY!

I really need to check out the new Strathmere library.

The Chicago Sun-Times takes a trip to Atlantic City.

Love/hate this video

Summer Song from Justin Gaynor on Vimeo.

Why love it? Because it's awesome. Why hate it? Because I miss when I'd spend a full week down the shore doing nothing.